Maine lawmakers vote against cell phone warning label

The Health and Human Services Committee of Maine's Legislature voted 8-5 on Tuesday not to require labels on cell phones warning consumers that they may emit cancer-causing radiation, citing a dearth of credible scientific evidence and a preference for not causing panic among the state's consumers, according to the Bangor Daily News.

The bill, LD 1706, "An Act to Create the Children’s Wireless Protection Act" proposed the following warning label:

• "WARNING, THIS DEVICE EMITS ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION, EXPOSURE TO WHICH MAY CAUSE BRAIN CANCER. USERS, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN, SHOULD KEEP THIS DEVICE AWAY FROM THE HEAD AND BODY."

While legislators shied away from the warning label itself, they did call on the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to take the lead in establishing a public awareness campaign regarding cancers and cell phone use.

LD 1706 (PDF file)